The row over the collapse of a deal between Chinese companies and the Scottish Government has been branded "embarrassing".

At First Minister's Questions on Thursday, Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson hit out at Nicola Sturgeon over a lack of transparency on the agreement.

A memorandum of understanding with Chinese firms SinoForte and the China Railway Group was signed in March but the agreement was reported to have collapsed in August.

Media in China had branded the affair the "Scottish shambles" after opposition parties raised concerns about the human rights record of rail firm CR3.

The First Minister said opposition parties should not create a climate which is hostile to investment.

She said the memorandum did not commit the Scottish Government to any specific investment.

The Scottish Conservative leader said: "The First Minister is demanding the rest of us take responsibility for a deal we did not know existed.

"I cannot believe that the First Minister is saying that the Chinese Communist Party is pulling out of this deal because they heard the Scottish Liberal Democrat roar.

"This entire saga is embarrassing. It's embarrassing for this government and it's embarrassing for our country."

Sturgeon said: "It's a bit rich for the opposition to complain about a deal collapsing when for weeks they demanded the whole thing was cancelled.

"That I think is double standards and hypocrisy."

The First Minister highlighted the UK's Government's dealings with Nissan, the details of which have not been published.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie also brought up the deal at FMQs, asking if the Scottish Government had carried out an investigation into the human rights records of one of the companies involved.

He said: "We wanted this deal cancelled because you hadn't bothered to find out the human rights record."

In May, Amnesty International delivered a report to the First Minister highlighting "human rights abuses" of a second group linked to China Railway in DR Congo as well as a report by the Norwegian state which blacklisted the firm due to "gross corruption".

The First Minister said concerns over human rights were taken seriously.

Sturgeon said: "Willie Rennie has to make up his mind, either he wanted it cancelled or he wanted me to pick up the phone and rescue it."